JP4336251B2 - Traceability system, trace information management method, trace information management program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a traceability system, a trace information management method, a trace information management program, and a recording medium. In particular, the present invention relates to a traceability system, a trace information management method, a trace information management program, and a recording medium for efficiently managing information related to a process in a process chain including a series of processes executed to obtain a final product.

In recent years, traceability systems have attracted attention for the purpose of quality control and quality assurance for individual products. The traceability system is a system that collects various information related to final products such as resources or materials, parts, and assembly parts in the product life cycle for each individual product and uses them for quality control and quality assurance for each product. Yes (see Non-Patent Document 1).
IBM Japan, “Traceability System”, [online], [Search May 17, 2004], Internet <URL: http://www-6.ibm.com/solutions/ /wireless/solution/wireless_tracability.html>

  The conventional traceability system lacks versatility and flexibility because the system developer uniquely designs an application with a default data model. For this reason, every time an application is added or a requirement is changed, the information system must be changed greatly, resulting in an increase in management cost.

  Further, the conventional traceability system is mainly used for realizing traceability in a relatively simple process chain such as management of food raw materials and history. For this reason, the amount of collected trace information is relatively small and is generally centrally managed by a server device. However, in the future, it is hoped that it will be applied to various industrial products produced by complex process chains such as vehicles, machine tools, information equipment, and home appliances. However, a system that can be mounted efficiently is required.

  In the conventional traceability system, the trace information collected in the process of each process is generally accessed by a method adapted to the trace information for each process. For this reason, the conventional traceability application is specialized for the target production process and is difficult to apply to other production processes.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a traceability system, a trace information management method, a trace information management program, and a recording medium that can solve the above-described problems. This object is achieved by a combination of features described in the independent claims. The dependent claims define further advantageous specific examples of the present invention.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a traceability system for managing information related to a process in a process chain including a series of processes executed to obtain a final product, which corresponds to a real event executing the process. In addition, a process instance generating unit that generates a process instance for registering information about the event based on the execution condition of the event, and a pointer indicating a recording destination of trace information in which the execution condition is recorded in the process instance A trace information pointer storage unit to be stored, and a preceding process for identifying a process instance corresponding to an actual event that supplies a result obtained by executing a preceding process immediately preceding the process with respect to an event corresponding to the process instance Instagram A scan pointer, and prior process instance pointer storage unit for storing in association with the process instance, the actual performing the following subsequent processes resulting product to obtain the process of event corresponding to the process instance events A subsequent process instance pointer that identifies a process instance pointer that identifies the process instance corresponding to the process instance, and stores the process instance pointer for each of the plurality of process instances specified from the outside A process instance forward search unit that sequentially acquires the process instances of the preceding process based on the preceding process instance pointer recorded in each process instance in order from A common process instance extraction unit that extracts the process instance common to the set of process instances acquired by the process instance forward search unit corresponding to each of the plurality of process instances specified from the unit, and the common process instance extraction unit Processing of the event corresponding to the specified process instance by acquiring the process instance of the subsequent process based on the backward process instance pointer recorded in the process instance in order from the process instance A process instance backward search unit for specifying a final product performed in common, and a common product identification information output unit for outputting information for identifying the final product specified by the process instance backward search unit . A traceability system, a trace information management method therefor, and a trace information management program are provided.

  The above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these feature groups can also be the invention.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the traceability system which manages efficiently the trace information collected from each process of a process chain can be provided.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the scope of claims, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are included. It is not necessarily essential for the solution of the invention.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a traceability system 10 according to the present embodiment. The traceability system 10 is intended to efficiently manage information regarding the process 110 in a process chain including a series of processes 110 executed to obtain a final product.

  The traceability system 10 includes a process chain including a plurality of processes 110, one or a plurality of distributed server devices 120, and a central server device 130. Each process 110 performs the process 110 on the result (intermediate product or the like) of the preceding process 110, and outputs the result (intermediate product or final product 115) of the process 110. Each process may be a variety of processing steps, such as product assembly, processing, inspection, transportation, and / or inventory, and can be done in any unit by the designer designing the model of the process chain. Is set. For convenience of modeling, one or more processes 110 at the end of the process chain may be provided corresponding to the final product 115 itself.

  Each distributed server device 120 collects from the process 110 trace information that specifies an event execution condition in association with an actual event that executes the process 110 assigned to the distributed server device 120. Here, the actual event means that various actual operations such as assembly, processing, inspection, transportation, and / or inventory are performed on the result of the immediately preceding process. This actual work is the work of generating the result of the process from the result of the previous process, the work of supplying the result of the previous process to the next process, or adding some information to the result of the previous process Then, it may be an operation for supplying the next process. The distributed server apparatus 120 described above may be provided individually corresponding to each process 110 or may be provided corresponding to the process group 100 including a plurality of processes 110.

The trace information is information obtained by collecting execution conditions of events for executing the process 110 when the process 110 is executed by inputting a result of the preceding process 110. The trace information includes, for example, information for identifying a company that has performed the process 110 such as a manufacturer, a processor, an inspector, or a transporter, or the process such as a factory, a production line, a transportation facility, or a warehouse. It may be information that identifies the department that performed the operation. The trace information may be information for identifying a person who has executed the process, such as an operator, a work shift, or an inspector, for example, and specifies environmental conditions when the process is executed such as temperature and humidity. It may be information. Furthermore, the trace information may be a combination of the various types of information described above.

  The central server apparatus 130 is connected to a plurality of distributed server apparatuses 120 and manages trace information collected by each process 110 using a process chain model. Then, the central server device 130 executes a traceability application that processes the collected trace information.

  In the present embodiment, the plurality of distributed server devices 120 and the central server device 130 constitute a distributed system. Each distributed server device 120 stores trace information, and the central server device 130 manages the trace information. The plurality of distributed server apparatuses 120 collect and store trace information generated in the corresponding process 110 by distributed processing. For this reason, the traceability system 10 can prevent the central server apparatus 130 from becoming a bottleneck due to the concentration of the trace information on the central server apparatus 130.

  On the other hand, the central server apparatus 130 manages trace information using a process chain model. Then, when collecting the trace information of the final product designated by the traceability application, it is possible to search the model stored on the central server device 130 and select the trace information to be collected. For this reason, the central server apparatus 130 can efficiently select the trace information without frequently communicating with the distributed server apparatus 120.

  As described above, according to the traceability system 10, a large-scale process chain can be efficiently mounted. In other forms, the plurality of distributed server devices 120 and the central server device 130 may be implemented by a single computer.

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration of the process 110 according to the present embodiment. In this embodiment, various processes 110 such as assembly, processing, transportation, and / or inventory are modeled as having the general structure shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the structure of the process 110 will be described by taking the process 110d of FIG. 2 as an example.

Process 110d is connected to one or more preceding processes 110a-c and one or more subsequent processes 110e-g. Then, the results (intermediate products) output from the preceding processes 110a to 110c are input in quantities (a) to (c), and an event corresponding to the process 110d is performed on the results of the preceding processes 110a to 110c. Execute. Then, a result (intermediate product or final product 115) obtained as a result of executing the process 110d is supplied in quantities (e) to (g) to the subsequent processes 110e to 110g.
Here, the result is an intermediate product or a final product that is actually obtained as a result of executing the process 110. If there is a subsequent process 110, the result is provided to the subsequent process 110. When the subsequent process 110 is an assembly process or a machining process, the resultant product is used as a part or a raw material for assembly / processing. When the subsequent process 110 is a transportation process or the like, the resultant product is transported as an object for transportation or the like and further supplied to the subsequent process 110. When the subsequent process 110 is an inventory process or the like, the resultant product is temporarily stored in a warehouse or the like, and is supplied when it is necessary for the subsequent process 110.

  The process 110d is configured by a combination of the assembly / processing process 112 and / or the unloading process 114. The assembly / processing process 112 performs processing such as assembly or processing on the result input from the preceding processes 110a to 110c, and supplies a new product in a quantity (d). In this event processing, the distributed server device 120 collects event execution conditions such as assembly or processing conditions and environmental conditions as trace information.

  The unloading process 114 unloads the result of the process 110d to the subsequent processes 110e to 110g. The unloading process 114 does not unload these to the processes 110e to 110g when some of the results are defective or lost. Here, when the process 110d performs an event process that does not change the assembly or processing on the input result, such as transportation or inventory, the process 110d does not include the assembly / processing process 112 and is an unloading process. 114.

  As described above, the traceability system 10 is a general-purpose traceability system capable of modeling various processes by providing a general-purpose model that expresses each process 110 by a combination of the assembly / processing process 112 and the unloading process 114. Can be provided.

  FIG. 3 shows a configuration of the distributed server device 120 according to the present embodiment. The distributed server device 120 includes a trace information collection unit 300, a trace information storage unit 310, a trace information pointer transmission unit 315, and a trace information transmission unit 320. When the process 110 assigned to the distributed server device 120 is executed, the trace information collection unit 300 collects trace information for specifying an execution condition corresponding to an actual event for executing the process 110. The trace information storage unit 310 stores the trace information collected by the trace information collection unit 300 corresponding to the event. The trace information pointer transmission unit 315 transmits a pointer (trace information pointer) indicating the storage destination of the trace information stored in the trace information storage unit 310 to the central server device 130. When the central server device 130 is requested to transmit the trace information, the trace information transmission unit 320 reads the trace information designated by the central server device 130 from the trace information storage unit 310 and returns it.

  FIG. 4 shows a configuration of the central server device 130 according to the present embodiment. The central server device 130 includes a trace information registration processing unit 400, a process instance storage unit 410, a process instance search unit 420, an application processing unit 430, a trace information processing unit 440, a data directory storage unit 460, and a data directory. A search unit 470 and a trace information acquisition unit 480 are included.

  The trace information registration processing unit 400 receives the trace information pointer from the distributed server device 120 and records it in the process instance storage unit 410. As a result, the trace information registration processing unit 400 registers the trace information in the central server device 130. The trace information registration processing unit 400 includes a process instance generation unit 402, a trace information pointer storage unit 404, a preceding process instance pointer storage unit 406, and a subsequent process instance pointer storage unit 408. The process instance generation unit 402 registers the storage destination of the trace information collected by the distributed server device 120 by instantiating each process object included in the process chain model according to the execution condition of the event. Generate an instance based on event execution conditions. Then, the process instance generation unit 402 stores the generated process instance in the process instance storage unit 410.

  The trace information pointer storage unit 404 stores the pointer of the trace information received from the distributed server device 120 corresponding to the event in the process instance 600 associated with the event. The preceding process instance pointer storage unit 406 stores a preceding process instance pointer indicating the recording destination of the preceding process instance for the process instance in association with each process instance. Here, the preceding process instance is a process instance generated corresponding to an actual event that supplies a result obtained by executing a preceding process immediately before the process with respect to an event corresponding to the process instance of interest. It is.

  The subsequent process instance pointer storage unit 408 stores a subsequent process instance pointer indicating the recording destination of the subsequent process instance for the process instance in association with each process instance. Here, the subsequent process instance is a process instance corresponding to an actual event in which a result of an event corresponding to the process instance of interest is acquired and a subsequent process subsequent to the process is executed.

  Here, the pointers such as the trace information pointer, the preceding process instance pointer, and the subsequent process instance pointer are the storage locations where the data specified by the pointers such as the trace information, the preceding process instance, and the subsequent process instance are stored. It may be information to be specified. This storage location is information that specifies an address, a file name, an index in a database, or the like that stores the data, and may include information that specifies a server device that stores the data. Further, these pointers may be identifiers (Identifiers) for identifying data designated by the pointers. In this case, the central server apparatus 130 specifies the storage position in the distributed server apparatus 120 and the distributed server apparatus 120 that stored the data based on the identifier.

  According to the trace information registration processing unit 400 described above, each time the central server device 130 receives a trace information pointer for trace information collected corresponding to the execution of each process, the process indicated by the trace information Process instance is generated corresponding to the execution condition of. The central server apparatus 130 can associate the process instance for the process with the process instance for the preceding process and the subsequent process.

  The process instance storage unit 410 stores one or a plurality of process instances 600 registered by the trace information registration processing unit 400.

  In response to a request from the trace information processing unit 440, the process instance search unit 420 searches for the process instance 600 stored in the process instance storage unit 410. The process instance search unit 420 includes a process instance forward search unit 422, a common process instance extraction unit 424, and a process instance backward search unit 426. The process instance forward search unit 422, for each of one or more process instances 600 designated from the outside, sequentially from the process instance 600, based on the preceding process instance pointer recorded in each process instance 600. The process instance 600 is acquired. Thereby, the process instance forward search unit 422 can search the process instance chain and acquire each process instance 600 corresponding to each event performed on the result of the designated process instance 600.

  The common process instance extraction unit 424 extracts a process instance common to a set of process instances acquired by the process instance forward search unit 422 corresponding to each of a plurality of process instances 600 designated from the outside. As a result, the common process instance extraction unit 424 can acquire the process instance 600 corresponding to the event performed in common on the result of the plurality of designated process instances 600.

  The process instance backward search unit 426 acquires the process instance 600 of the subsequent process based on the backward process instance pointer recorded in the process instance 600 in order from the process instance 600 designated from the outside. As a result, the process instance backward search unit 426 specifies the final product in which the processing of the event corresponding to the designated process instance 600 is performed in common. Here, the process instance backward search unit 426 may perform the above-described backward search in order from the process instance 600 designated by the external trace information processing unit 440, and the common process instance extracted by the common process instance extraction unit 424. The backward search may be performed in order from 600.

  The application processing unit 430 executes the traceability application using the general model of the process chain provided by the trace information processing unit 440 and the process instance search unit 420. The traceability application executed by the application processing unit 430 includes, for example, quality assessment or quality assurance for each final product, different handling or service for each final product, environmental impact assessment for each final product, recycling processing for each final product, Optimize the allocation of various resources in the process chain.

  The trace information processing unit 440 causes the process instance search unit 420 to search for a chain of process instances based on a request from the application processing unit 430, and returns a search result as a response. The trace information processing unit 440 includes a trace information output request unit 442, a trace information output unit 444, a common product identification information output request unit 446, a common product identification information output unit 448, a common trace information output request unit 450, A common trace information output unit 452.

  The trace information output request unit 442 obtains a process instance 600 corresponding to each event performed on a result (such as a final product) of a specific process instance 600 based on an instruction from the application processing unit 430. Request to the instance forward search unit 422. In response to this, the process instance forward search unit 422 searches the chain of process instances forward in order from the specific process instance 600 and processes corresponding to each event performed on the result of the specific process instance 600. An instance 600 is acquired. The trace information output unit 444 supplies the trace information pointer recorded in each of the plurality of process instances 600 sequentially acquired by the process instance forward search unit 422 to the data directory search unit 470, and the plurality of corresponding process instances 600 correspond to the plurality of process instances 600. The trace information acquisition unit 480 acquires the trace information. Then, the plurality of pieces of trace information are output to the application processing unit 430 as a set of trace information about the result of the event corresponding to the process instance 600 designated by the external application processing unit 430. As a result, if the application processing unit 430 designates a specific process instance 600 using a general-purpose interface provided by the trace information output requesting unit 442 and the trace information output unit 444, a result of the process instance 600 is obtained. The execution condition of each event executed up to now can be received from the trace information output unit 444.

  Based on an instruction from the application processing unit 430, the common product identification information output request unit 446 specifies one or a plurality of results or final products in which processing of an event corresponding to a specific process instance 600 is performed in common. Is requested to the process instance backward search unit 426. In response to this, the process instance backward search unit 426 searches backward for the chain of process instances in order from the specific process instance 600, and the subsequent process instances corresponding to the specific process instance 600 are commonly processed. Each process instance 600 is acquired sequentially. As a result, the common product identification information output request unit 446 specifies one or a plurality of final products or results obtained by commonly processing events corresponding to the designated process instance 600. The common product identification information output unit 448 outputs information for identifying the final product specified by the process instance backward search unit 426 to the application processing unit 430. As a result, if the application processing unit 430 designates a specific process instance 600 using the general-purpose interface provided by the common product identification information output request unit 446 and the common product identification information output unit 448, the application process unit 430 is assigned to the process instance 600. It is possible to specify one or a plurality of final products that have been processed for the corresponding event.

  Based on an instruction from the application processing unit 430, the common trace information output request unit 450 requests the process instance forward search unit 422 to acquire an execution condition of processing performed in common for the plurality of process instances 600. In response to this, the process instance forward search unit 422 searches forward for a chain of process instances in order from each of the plurality of process instances 600. Then, the common process instance extraction unit 424 extracts a process instance 600 that is common to a set of process instances 600 acquired corresponding to each of the plurality of process instances 600. The common trace information output unit 452 supplies the trace information pointer recorded in the common process instance 600 extracted by the common process instance extraction unit 424 to the data directory search unit 470, and trace information corresponding to the common process instance 600. Is acquired by the trace information acquisition unit 480. Then, the acquired trace information is output to the application processing unit 430 as information for specifying the execution condition of the processing performed in common for the result of the event corresponding to the plurality of process instances 600 specified by the application processing unit 430. To do. As a result, if the application processing unit 430 specifies a plurality of process instances 600 using a general-purpose interface provided by the common trace information output request unit 450 and the common trace information output unit 452, the result of these process instances 600 is obtained. It is possible to receive from the common trace information output unit 452 an execution condition of an event performed in common for an object.

  The data directory storage unit 460 obtains the correspondence between the trace information pointer received from the distributed server device 120 and the storage position storing the trace information from the trace information pointer storage unit 404, and stores the trace information pointer and the storage position of the trace information. Are stored as a data directory in association with each other. In other words, the trace information pointer in the present embodiment functions as an indirect pointer that specifies the recording destination of the trace information. Here, the storage location of the trace information stored in the data directory is information indicating the distributed server device 120 in which the trace information is recorded and the storage location in the distributed server device 120, and may be a URL, for example.

  The data directory search unit 470 receives the trace information pointer from the trace information output unit 444 or the common trace information output unit 452 and searches the data directory storage unit 460 for the storage location of the trace information corresponding to the trace information pointer. The trace information acquisition unit 480 acquires the storage location of the trace information searched by the data directory search unit 470. Then, the trace information acquisition unit 480 specifies the storage location for the distributed server device 120 corresponding to the storage location, and the trace information specified by the trace information pointer is read from the trace information storage unit 310 in the distributed server device 120. get.

  FIG. 5 shows a model configuration of a process 500 according to the present embodiment. The traceability system 10 according to the present embodiment provides an environment for constructing a general-purpose model of a process chain using a generalized process 500 model as shown in FIG.

  The model of the process 500 according to the present embodiment includes a process identification information storage area 510, a preceding process pointer storage area 520, a quantity information storage area 525, a trace information pointer storage area 530, and a process specific information storage area 535. The subsequent process pointer storage area 540 is provided to the user as a process class in an object-oriented language, for example. The process identification information storage area 510 is a data area for storing identification information (Identifier) for identifying the process 500. The preceding process pointer storage area 520 is a data area for storing a pointer for identifying the process identification information storage area 510 of the preceding processes 500a to 500c located immediately before the process 500d in the process chain. The quantity information storage area 525 is a data area for storing the number of results supplied from each of the preceding processes 500a to 500c.

  The trace information pointer storage area 530 is a data area for storing a pointer of trace information collected in association with an event for executing the process 500d. The trace information pointer storage area 530 stores pointers for various types of trace information. For example, the trace information pointer storage area 530 indicates the storage destination of the execution condition (lot condition) of the process 500d for the lot when the process 500d is executed to obtain a lot of the result (intermediate product or final product). Store the trace information pointer. Here, the lot indicates a set of one or a plurality of results obtained corresponding to the same event for the process 500d.

  The process unique information storage area 535 is a data area for storing information unique to the process 500d. The information stored in the process specific information storage area 535 is information specified by the user for each process 500 when building a process chain model. For example, the type of the process 500d (an assembly process, a machining process, etc.) Information indicating the origin of the lot, such as the lot type, lot quantity, manufacturer name, etc., information indicating the part number of the result, the number of the result per lot, and the like.

  The subsequent process pointer storage area 540 is a data area for storing process identification information of the subsequent process 500 positioned next to the process 500d in the process chain. The user of the traceability system 10 uses a GUI provided by the traceability system 10 to define a plurality of processes 500 that model each of the actual processes 110, and establishes connections between the processes 500 as the preceding processes. It is defined by a pointer and a successor process pointer. Then, by storing information unique to each process 500 in the process unique information storage area 535, a process chain model is created.

  FIG. 6 shows a configuration of a process instance 600 according to the present embodiment. When the process 110 is actually executed, the process instance generation unit 402 instantiates the model of the process 500 illustrated in FIG. 5 in association with an actual event that executes the process, and generates a process instance 600. The generated process instance 600 is stored in the process instance storage area provided on the process instance storage unit 410 which is an example of the data recording medium according to the present invention, and is stored by the process instance storage unit 410. The process instance 600 according to the present embodiment includes process instance identification information 610, preceding process instance pointer 620, preceding process instance product quantity information 625, trace information pointer 630, process instance specific information 635, and subsequent process instance. A pointer 640 and subsequent process instance product quantity information 650 are provided. The process instance storage unit 410 stores these pieces of information in a process instance identification information storage area, a preceding process instance pointer storage area, and a preceding process instance product quantity information storage provided in the process instance storage area corresponding to the process instance 600. The area, the trace information pointer storage area, the process instance specific information storage area, the subsequent process instance pointer storage area, and the subsequent process instance product quantity information storage area are stored.

  The process instance identification information 610 is identification information (Identifier) for identifying the process instance 600d, and is assigned by the process instance generation unit 402 when the process instance 600d is generated. The preceding process instance pointer 620 is a pointer for identifying the preceding process instances 600a to 600c preceding the process instance 600d, and is stored by the preceding process instance pointer storage unit 406. The preceding process instance product quantity information 625 is the number of results of the process instances 600a to 600c supplied from each of the preceding process instances 600a to 600c, and is stored by the trace information pointer storage unit 404.

  The trace information pointer 630 is a pointer indicating the recording destination of the trace information regarding the execution condition of the event corresponding to the process instance 600d, and is stored by the trace information pointer storage unit 404. The trace information pointer 630 according to the present embodiment is identification information for identifying information related to an inspector or an operator, such as a material, a processing condition, a machine / tool / tool, and the like, and specific contents thereof. Is indirectly shown via the data directory stored in the data directory storage unit 460.

  The process instance specific information 635 is information specific to the event corresponding to the process instance 600d, and is stored by the process instance generation unit 402. The information stored as the process instance specific information 635 includes the lot number of the result of the event, the information on the time when the event was executed, the lot quantity of the result of the event, the information indicating the origin of the lot, and the parts of the result This is information indicating the number, the number of results per lot, and the like.

  The subsequent process instance pointer 640 is a pointer for identifying the subsequent process instance 600 next to the process instance 600d, and is stored by the subsequent process instance pointer storage unit 408. The subsequent process instance product quantity information 650 indicates the quantity of the result of the process instance 600d supplied to the event corresponding to each subsequent process instance.

  As described above, the trace information registration processing unit 400 generates a process instance 600 for each event for executing each process, and uses the preceding process instance 600 of the process instance 600 and the pointers of the subsequent process instance 600 as the process instance. 600. Thereby, the trace information registration processing unit 400 can link a plurality of process instances 600 corresponding to a series of events performed to obtain a certain result or final product in the order of execution of the events. Therefore, the process instance search unit 420 can efficiently perform processing such as collecting trace information of all events performed on a certain result or final product by searching the linked process instances 600.

FIG. 7 shows an operation flow of the traceability system 10 according to the present embodiment.
First, when each process 110 in the process chain is executed, the trace information collection unit 300 in the distributed server device 120 traces the execution condition of the event in association with an actual event that executes each process 110. Information is collected (S700). Next, the trace information collection unit 300 stores the collected trace information in the trace information storage unit 310 (S710).

  Next, the trace information pointer transmission unit 315 acquires the trace information pointer indicating the recording destination on the trace information storage unit 310 storing the trace information from the trace information collection unit 300, and transmits the trace information pointer to the central server device 130 (S712). . Here, when the trace information pointer is identification information such as a material, the trace information pointer transmission unit 315 associates the trace information pointer with the trace information pointer and sets the storage position of the information identified by the trace information pointer to the central server device 130. Send to.

  In the processing of S700 and S712 described above, the trace information collection unit 300 and the trace information pointer transmission unit 315 perform process instance as identification information such as a lot number for identifying the product supplied from the preceding process 110, and process instance specific information 635. Information to be stored in 600, information on the quantity of the product supplied from the preceding process instance 600, information on the quantity of the product supplied to the subsequent process instance 600, and the like are collected or generated and transmitted to the central server apparatus 130. To do.

  Next, the process instance generation unit 402 in the central server apparatus 130 generates a process instance 600 for each event for executing the process 110 based on the information received from the trace information pointer transmission unit 315 (S714). Next, the trace information pointer storage unit 404 registers the trace information in the process instance 600 by storing the trace information pointer received from the trace information pointer transmission unit 315 in the generated process instance 600 (S720). The trace information pointer storage unit 404 stores information such as preceding process instance product quantity information 625, process instance specific information 635, and subsequent process instance product quantity information 650 in the process instance 600.

  Next, the preceding process instance pointer storage unit 406 stores the pointer of the preceding process instance 600 as the preceding process instance pointer 620, and the quantity of the result supplied as a result of the event processing corresponding to the preceding process instance 600. Is stored as preceding process instance product quantity information 625 (S722). That is, for example, the preceding process instance pointer storage unit 406 searches for the preceding process instance 600 corresponding to the event that supplied the result based on the identification information of the result of the preceding process 110 received from the distributed server device 120. . Then, the pointer of the preceding process instance 600 is stored as the preceding process instance pointer 620. Alternatively, the pointer of the preceding process instance 600 may be directly added to the result of the event corresponding to the preceding process instance 600, propagated between the processes 110, and collected by the trace information collecting unit 300. In this case, in the processing of S700 and S712 described above, the trace information collection unit 300 and the trace information pointer transmission unit 315 further collect the pointer of the preceding process instance 600 and transmit it to the central server apparatus 130, and the preceding process instance pointer The storage unit 406 stores the received pointer as the preceding process instance pointer 620.

  Next, the subsequent process instance pointer storage unit 408 stores the pointer of the subsequent process instance 600 as the subsequent process instance pointer 640 (S724). More specifically, the subsequent process instance pointer storage unit 408 searches the process instance storage unit 410 for a preceding process instance 600 preceding the process instance 600 being processed. That is, for example, the subsequent process instance pointer storage unit 408 searches for the preceding process instance 600 corresponding to the event that supplied the result based on the identification information of the result of the preceding process 110 received from the distributed server device 120. . Then, the subsequent process instance pointer storage unit 408 stores the process instance identification information 610 of the process instance 600 being processed as the subsequent process instance pointer 640 of the preceding process instance 600. As a result, the subsequent process instance pointer storage unit 408 can store the pointer of the subsequent process instance 600 as the subsequent process instance pointer 640 of the preceding process instance 600.

  By performing the processing from S700 to S724 described above in response to all events processed to obtain all final products, the traceability system 10 can perform processing for all process instances 600 corresponding to all events. A chain of process instances can be created. Then, the application processing unit 430 executes the traceability application using the chain of process instances and processes the trace information (S730).

  With the operation flow described above, the traceability system 10 can generate a process instance 600 for each event for executing each process 110 and connect a plurality of process instances 600 corresponding to a series of events. The traceability system 10 can efficiently search for the process instance 600 by centrally managing the connection relation of the plurality of process instances 600 with the central server device 130. On the other hand, the traceability system 10 can prevent the central server device 130 from becoming a bottleneck by collecting and collecting the trace information including the execution condition of each event by each distributed server device 120.

In the processes of S700, S710, and S712 described above, the traceability system 10 can collect the trace information by the following methods (1) to (3) and generate the process instance 600.
(1) A new process instance 600 is generated each time the execution condition changes. The trace information collection unit 300 in the distributed server device 120 inputs the result of the preceding process and executes the process for which the distributed server device 120 is responsible. In this case, trace information specifying the execution condition of the process is collected corresponding to the result of the process obtained as a result of executing the process. For example, the trace information collection unit 300 specifies at least one of a material or equipment condition, an operator condition, and a temperature or humidity condition when executing the process, corresponding to the result of the process. Collect trace information.

  When the trace information different from the trace information collected immediately before is collected while the process is executed and a plurality of results are sequentially supplied, the trace information storage unit 310 newly collects the trace information. The trace information is stored, and the trace information pointer transmission unit 315 transmits a pointer of the newly collected trace information to the central server device 130.

  As a result of this processing, the process instance generation unit 402 in the central server apparatus 130 generates a plurality of process instances when a plurality of different pieces of trace information are collected corresponding to the result of the process. In other words, for example, the process instance generation unit 402 is configured to collect a plurality of processes when a plurality of pieces of trace information are collected that are different from any one of the conditions of the material or equipment, the conditions of the worker, and the conditions of temperature or humidity. Generate instance information. The trace information pointer storage unit 404 stores a pointer indicating a recording destination of different trace information in each process instance.

  Through the above processing, the traceability system 10 can generate a common process instance 600 for a plurality of results having common execution conditions, register common trace information, and suppress the number of process instances 600 generated. be able to.

(2) A new process instance 600 is generated each time a certain amount of the result of the process is supplied. The trace information collection unit 300 in the distributed server device 120 executes the process by inputting the result of the preceding process. Corresponding to each of the groups obtained by dividing the plurality of results of the process by a preset number or amount, trace information specifying the execution condition of the process is collected. That is, the trace information collection unit 300 groups a predetermined number or amount of results as one lot, and collects trace information corresponding to the results of this one lot. Then, the trace information storage unit 310 stores the collected trace information, and the trace information pointer transmission unit 315 transmits the trace information pointer to the central server device 130.

  As a result of this processing, the process instance generation unit 402 in the central server device 130 generates a process instance corresponding to each group of results. Then, the trace information pointer storage unit 404 stores the trace information pointer collected corresponding to the group in the process instance corresponding to each group.

  With the above processing, the traceability system 10 generates a process instance 600 every time a certain number or amount of results are obtained for each process, thereby uniformizing a plurality of process instances 600 corresponding to the same process. Can do.

(3) A new process instance 600 is generated every predetermined period. The trace information collection unit 300 in the distributed server device 120 executes the process when the result of the preceding process is input and the process is executed. Trace information for specifying execution conditions is collected corresponding to each group obtained by dividing a plurality of results of the process for each period. That is, the trace information collection unit 300 groups the results obtained during a preset period as one lot, and collects trace information corresponding to the one lot of results. This period may be, for example, every hour or may be daytime, nighttime, or the like. Then, the trace information storage unit 310 stores the collected trace information, and the trace information pointer transmission unit 315 transmits the trace information pointer to the central server device 130.

  As a result of this processing, a process instance is generated corresponding to each group of the resultant products in the same manner as (2) above. Then, the trace information pointer storage unit 404 stores the trace information pointer collected corresponding to the group in the process instance corresponding to each group.

  With the above processing, the traceability system 10 generates a process instance 600 corresponding to a result obtained for a certain period for each process, thereby uniformly distributing a plurality of process instances 600 corresponding to the same process. Can be

  Further, instead of the above, the central server device 130 may generate a plurality of process instances 600 in advance based on an execution plan for executing each process 110 and store them in the process instance storage unit 410. In this case, each time the central server device 130 receives a trace information pointer obtained as a result of executing the process according to the execution plan from the distributed server device 120, the central server device 130 generates a process generated in advance to register the trace information. The trace information pointer is stored in the instance 600.

  Instead, the distributed server device 120 reserves a storage area on the trace information storage unit 310 for storing the trace information in advance before collecting the trace information, and sets the pointer of the trace information as the central server device 130. May be transmitted in advance. In this case, the central server device 130 can store the trace information pointer in the process instance 600 in advance before executing each process 110. As a result, the traceability system 10 can minimize communication between the distributed server device 120 and the central server device 130 while executing each process 110.

  FIG. 8 shows a first example of the trace information processing flow of the traceability system 10 according to the present embodiment. In this trace information processing flow, the trace information processing unit 440 receives all the traces collected in the process of obtaining the final product for a specific final product designated by the user in response to a request from the application processing unit 430. Information is output to the application processing unit 430. This processing can be used for the purpose of obtaining customer's service by obtaining all trace information about the final product, for example, when a purchaser makes an inquiry about a specific final product.

  First, the trace information output request unit 442 receives the designation of the final product from the application processing unit 430, and acquires the process instance 600 corresponding to each event performed on the final product to the process instance forward search unit 422. A request is made (S800). In response to this, the process instance forward search unit 422 searches the process instance chain forward from the process instance 600 corresponding to the final product, and all the events corresponding to all events performed on the final product. Process instance 600 is acquired (S810).

  Next, the trace information output unit 444 supplies the trace information pointer recorded in each process instance 600 acquired by the process instance forward search unit 422 to the data directory search unit 470. In response to this, the data directory search unit 470 searches the data directory storage unit 460 for the storage location of the trace information corresponding to these trace information pointers (S820).

  Next, the trace information acquisition unit 480 acquires each trace information from the distributed server device 120 based on the information on the storage position of each trace information, and supplies it to the trace information output unit 444 (S830). In response, the trace information output unit 444 outputs each piece of trace information to the application processing unit 430 (S840).

  With the above processing, when the central server apparatus 130 receives a request to output all trace information about a specific final product, the central server apparatus 130 distributes the process instances 600 corresponding to all events performed on the final product. The search can be performed without performing communication with the server apparatus 120. Then, the central server device 130 can reduce the amount of communication with the distributed server device 120 by acquiring only the trace information to be output to the application processing unit 430 from the distributed server device 120.

  FIG. 9 shows a second example of the trace information processing flow of the traceability system 10 according to the present embodiment. In this trace information processing flow, the trace information processing unit 440 receives information from the application processing unit 430 and identifies information for identifying one or more final products in which a specific event designated by the user is performed in common. Is output to the application processing unit 430. This process can be used for the purpose of identifying the final products that have been processed for an event and repairing those final products when it becomes clear that a problem has occurred in an event. .

  First, the common product identification information output request unit 446 receives the designation of the process instance 600 corresponding to the event from the application processing unit 430, and specifies one or more final products for which processing corresponding to the event has been performed. A request is made to the instance backward search unit 426 (S900). In response to this, the process instance backward search unit 426 searches backward for the chain of process instances in order from the specific process instance 600, and the subsequent process instances corresponding to the specific process instance 600 are commonly processed. Each process instance 600 is acquired sequentially (S910). As a result, the common product identification information output request unit 446 specifies one or a plurality of final products for which processing of events corresponding to the designated process instance 600 has been performed in common. Then, the common product identification information output unit 448 outputs information for identifying the final product specified by the process instance backward search unit 426 to the application processing unit 430 (S920).

  Through the above processing, the central server device 130 searches for a chain of process instances backward in order from the process instance 600 corresponding to the specific event, so that the specific event can be performed without performing communication with the distributed server device 120. Can extract all final products made in common.

  FIG. 10 shows a third example of the trace information processing flow of the traceability system 10 according to the present embodiment. In this trace information processing flow, the trace information processing unit 440 receives a request from the application processing unit 430, specifies an event performed in common for a plurality of final products designated by the user, and sets the event as the event. Correspondingly collected trace information is output. This process can be used for the purpose of, for example, identifying an event performed in common for a plurality of final products in which a defect has occurred and checking the execution condition of the event.

  First, the common trace information output request unit 450 receives designation of a plurality of final products from the application processing unit 430, and acquires the process instance 600 corresponding to each event performed on each final product. A request is made to the search unit 422 (S1000). In response to this, the process instance forward search unit 422 searches the chain of process instances forward for each final product in order from the process instance 600 corresponding to the final product, and all the processes performed on the final product are performed. A set of process instances 600 corresponding to the event is acquired (S1010).

  Next, the common process instance extraction unit 424 extracts the process instance 600 common to the set of process instances 600 acquired by the process instance forward search unit 422 corresponding to each final product (S1020). Then, the common trace information output unit 452 supplies the trace information pointer recorded in the common process instance 600 extracted by the common process instance extraction unit 424 to the data directory search unit 470 to obtain the trace information as the trace information acquisition unit 480. And output to the application processing unit 430 (S1030).

  Through the above processing, the central server device 130 searches forward in the chain of process instances in order from the process instance 600 corresponding to each of a plurality of final products, and thus does not communicate with the distributed server device 120. Process instances 600 corresponding to events common to multiple end products can be extracted.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of a process chain according to this embodiment. The process chain shown in FIG. 11 includes a material A procurement process 1100 for procuring material A, a part A processing process 1110 for processing material A and supplying part A, a material B procurement process 1120 for procuring material B, and material B. A product B processing process 1130 for processing and supplying the product B, a product assembly process 1140 for assembling the product A and the product B to supply the product X, and a product X process 1150 corresponding to the final product of the product X are provided. Each process in FIG. 11 is modeled as a process 500 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 12 shows an example of the connection relation of process instances according to the present embodiment. In this example, the traceability system 10 generates a material A procurement process instance 1300a in association with an actual event that executes the material A procurement process 1100 and obtains materials A1 and A2 as results. Further, the material A procurement process instance 1300b is generated in association with the actual event of executing the material A procurement process 1100 and obtaining the materials A3, A4, and A5 as results.

  Next, the part A machining process 1110 receives the supply of the materials A1, A2, and A3 from the preceding material A procurement process instance 1300a and material A procurement process instance 1300b, and executes the part A machining process 1110 according to the same execution condition. And obtain parts A1, A2, and A3 as the result. The traceability system 10 generates a part A machining process instance 1310a in association with this actual event. The part A processing process 1110 receives the supply of the materials A4 and A5 from the preceding material A procurement process instance 1300b, executes the part A processing process 1110 under the same execution conditions, and uses the parts A4 and A5 as the results. obtain. The traceability system 10 generates a part A machining process instance 1310b in association with this actual event.

  Next, the traceability system 10 generates the material B procurement process instance 1320a in association with the actual event of executing the material B procurement process 1120 and obtaining the materials B1, B2, and B3 as results. Further, the material B procurement process instance 1320b is generated in association with the actual event of executing the material B procurement process 1120 and obtaining the materials B4 and B5 as results.

  Next, the component B processing process 1130 receives the supply of the materials B1 and B2 from the preceding material B procurement process instance 1320a, executes the process under the same execution conditions, and obtains the components B1 and B2 as the results. The traceability system 10 generates a part B machining process instance 1330a in association with this actual event. Also, the part B processing process 1130 receives the supply of the materials B3, B4, and B5 from the preceding material B procurement process instances 1320a and 13b, executes the process under the same execution conditions, and results in the parts B3, B4 as results. , And B5. The traceability system 10 generates a part B machining process instance 1330b in association with this actual event.

  Next, the product assembly process 1140 receives the supply of the part B1 from the preceding part B processing process instance 1330a, and obtains the product X1. The traceability system 10 generates a product assembly process instance 1340a in association with this actual event. Similarly, the product assembly process 1140 obtains products X2 and X3 upon receipt of the parts B2 and B3, and obtains products X4 and X5 upon receipt of the parts B4 and B5. The traceability system 10 generates product assembly process instances 1340b and 1c in association with these actual events. Then, the traceability system 10 generates product X process instances 1350a to 1350e in association with the products X1 to X5 that are the final products.

  In the above processing, the traceability system 10 connects each process instance using the preceding process instance pointer and the succeeding process instance pointer, and constructs a chain of process instances.

  In this state, when a request to output all the trace information collected for the product X4 is received from the application processing unit 430, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the process instance search unit 420 displays the product X process corresponding to the product X4. A chain of process instances is searched forward from the instance 1350b, and a set of process instances corresponding to each event performed on the product X4 {product assembly process instance 1340c, part B machining process instance 1330b, material B procurement process instance 1320a , Material B procurement process instance 1320b, part A processing process instance 1310b, material A procurement process instance 1300b}. Then, the trace information processing unit 440 acquires trace information corresponding to these process instances using the trace information pointer included in these process instances, and outputs the trace information to the application processing unit 430.

  When receiving a request from the application processing unit 430 to specify the final product for which an event corresponding to the part B machining process instance 1330a has been performed, the process instance searching unit 420, as shown in FIG. The chain of process instances is searched backward in order from the instance 1330a to obtain a set of process instances {product X process instance 1350a, product X process instance 1350b}. Then, the trace information processing unit 440 outputs information identifying the products X1 and X2, which are the final products corresponding to these process instances, to the application processing unit 430.

  When receiving a request from the application processing unit 430 to output trace information collected corresponding to an event performed in common for the products X1 and X4, the process instance searching unit 420, as shown in FIG. In order from each of these products, a chain of process instances is searched forward. Next, the process instance search unit 420 extracts process instances {material A procurement process instance 1300b, material B procurement process instance 1320a} common to a set of process instances acquired corresponding to each product. Then, the trace information processing unit 440 acquires trace information corresponding to these process instances and outputs the trace information to the application processing unit 430.

  According to the traceability system 10 described above, a process instance chain is searched by the central server device 130, and trace information is collected by the distributed server device 120, thereby efficiently implementing a large-scale process chain. Can do. Further, by generalizing each process as a process 500, a process chain can be implemented by a general-purpose model applicable to various application fields. Further, since the data structure of the process instance 600 is generalized and the process instance chain search processing is modularized by the process instance search unit 420, the trace information is accessed from the application using a unified means. be able to.

  FIG. 13 shows a hardware configuration of a computer 1900 according to this embodiment. 2 shows an exemplary hardware configuration of a computer 1900 according to the present embodiment. A computer 1900 according to this embodiment is connected to a CPU peripheral unit having a CPU 2000, a RAM 2020, a graphic controller 2075, and a display device 2080 that are connected to each other by a host controller 2082, and to the host controller 2082 by an input / output controller 2084. Input / output unit having communication interface 2030, hard disk drive 2040, and CD-ROM drive 2060, and legacy input / output unit having ROM 2010, flexible disk drive 2050, and input / output chip 2070 connected to input / output controller 2084 With.

  The host controller 2082 connects the RAM 2020 to the CPU 2000 and the graphic controller 2075 that access the RAM 2020 at a high transfer rate. The CPU 2000 operates based on programs stored in the ROM 2010 and the RAM 2020 and controls each unit. The graphic controller 2075 acquires image data generated by the CPU 2000 or the like on a frame buffer provided in the RAM 2020 and displays it on the display device 2080. Instead of this, the graphic controller 2075 may include a frame buffer for storing image data generated by the CPU 2000 or the like.

  The input / output controller 2084 connects the host controller 2082 to the communication interface 2030, the hard disk drive 2040, and the CD-ROM drive 2060, which are relatively high-speed input / output devices. The communication interface 2030 communicates with other devices via a network. The hard disk drive 2040 stores programs and data used by the CPU 2000 in the computer 1900. The CD-ROM drive 2060 reads a program or data from the CD-ROM 2095 and provides it to the hard disk drive 2040 via the RAM 2020.

  The input / output controller 2084 is connected to the ROM 2010, the flexible disk drive 2050, and the relatively low-speed input / output device of the input / output chip 2070. The ROM 2010 stores a boot program that the computer 1900 executes at startup, a program that depends on the hardware of the computer 1900, and the like. The flexible disk drive 2050 reads a program or data from the flexible disk 2090 and provides it to the hard disk drive 2040 via the RAM 2020. The input / output chip 2070 connects various input / output devices via a flexible disk drive 2050 and, for example, a parallel port, a serial port, a keyboard port, a mouse port, and the like.

  A program provided to the hard disk drive 2040 via the RAM 2020 is stored in a recording medium such as the flexible disk 2090, the CD-ROM 2095, or an IC card and provided by the user. The program is read from the recording medium, installed in the hard disk drive 2040 in the computer 1900 via the RAM 2020, and executed by the CPU 2000.

  A program installed in the computer 1900 and causing the computer 1900 to function as the distributed server device 120 includes a trace information collection module, a trace information management module, a trace information pointer transmission module, and a trace information transmission module. These programs or modules work on the CPU 2000 or the like to cause the computer 1900 to function as the trace information collection unit 300, the trace information storage unit 310, the trace information pointer transmission unit 315, and the trace information transmission unit 320, respectively.

  A program installed in the computer 1900 and causing the computer 1900 to function as the central server apparatus 130 includes a process instance generation module, a trace information pointer storage module, a preceding process instance / pointer storage module, and a subsequent process instance / pointer storage module. A trace information registration processing module, a process instance management module, a process instance forward search module, a common process instance extraction module, a process instance search module having a process instance backward search module, an application processing module, and a trace information output request module; Trace information output module, common product identification information output request module Includes common product identification information output module, and trace information processing module having a common trace information output request module, and a common trace information output module, a data directory management module, a data directory search module, and a trace information acquisition module. These programs or modules work on the CPU 2000 or the like to have a computer 1900, a process instance generation unit 402, a trace information pointer storage unit 404, a preceding process instance pointer storage unit 406, and a subsequent process instance pointer storage unit 408. Trace information registration processing unit 400, process instance storage unit 410, process instance forward search unit 422, common process instance extraction unit 424, process instance search unit 420 having process instance backward search unit 426, application processing unit 430, , Trace information output request unit 442, trace information output unit 444, common product identification information output request unit 446, common product identification information output unit 448, common trace information output required Part 450, and a trace information processing section 440 having a common trace information output unit 452, a data directory storage unit 460, a data directory search unit 470, to function respectively as trace information acquisition unit 480.

  The program or module shown above may be stored in an external storage medium. As the storage medium, in addition to the flexible disk 2090 and the CD-ROM 2095, an optical recording medium such as DVD and CD, a magneto-optical recording medium such as MO, a tape medium, a semiconductor memory such as an IC card, and the like can be used. Further, a storage device such as a hard disk or a RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet may be used as a recording medium, and the program may be provided to the computer 1900 via the network.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment. It is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1 shows a configuration of a traceability system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 shows a configuration of a process 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 shows a configuration of a distributed server device 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The structure of the central server apparatus 130 which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown. 2 shows a configuration of a process 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 shows a configuration of a process instance 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The operation | movement flow of the traceability system 10 which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown. The 1st example of the trace information processing flow of the traceability system 10 concerning the embodiment of the present invention is shown. The 2nd example of the trace information processing flow of the traceability system 10 concerning the embodiment of the present invention is shown. The 3rd example of the trace information processing flow of the traceability system 10 concerning the embodiment of the present invention is shown. 2 shows an example of a process chain according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 shows an example of a connection relationship of process instances according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 shows a hardware configuration of a computer 1900 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Traceability system 100 Process group 110 Process 110a-g Process 112 Assembly and processing process 114 Unloading process 115 Final product 120 Distributed server apparatus 130 Central server apparatus 300 Trace information collection part 310 Trace information storage part 315 Trace information pointer transmission part 320 Trace information Transmission unit 400 Trace information registration processing unit 402 Process instance generation unit 404 Trace information pointer storage unit 406 Predecessor process instance / pointer storage unit 408 Subsequent process instance / pointer storage unit 410 Process instance storage unit 420 Process instance search unit 422 Process instance forward search Unit 424 common process instance extraction unit 426 process instance backward search unit 430 application Processing unit 440 Trace information processing unit 442 Trace information output request unit 444 Trace information output unit 446 Common product identification information output request unit 448 Common product identification information output unit 450 Common trace information output request unit 452 Common trace information output unit 460 Data Directory storage unit 470 Data directory search unit 480 Trace information acquisition unit 500a to d Process 510 Process identification information storage area 520 Predecessor / pointer storage area 525 Quantity information storage area 530 Trace information pointer storage area 535 Process specific information storage area 540 Subsequent process Pointer storage areas 600a to d Process instance 610 Process instance identification information 620 Predecessor process instance Pointer 625 Predecessor process instance product quantity information 63 Trace information pointer 635 Process instance specific information 640 Subsequent process instance pointer 650 Subsequent process instance product quantity information 1100 Material A procurement process 1110 Part A processing process 1120 Material B procurement process 1130 Part B processing process 1140 Product assembly process 1150 Product assembly process 1150 Product X process 1300a -B Material A procurement process instance 1310a-b Part A machining process instance 1320a-b Material B procurement process instance 1330a-b Part B machining process instance 1340a-c Product assembly process instance 1350a-d Product X process instance 1900 Computer 2000 CPU
2010 ROM
2020 RAM
2030 Communication interface 2040 Hard disk drive 2050 Flexible disk drive 2060 CD-ROM drive 2070 Input / output chip 2075 Graphic controller 2080 Display device 2082 Host controller 2084 Input / output controller 2090 Flexible disk 2095 CD-ROM

Claims (16)

A traceability system that manages information about processes in a process chain consisting of a series of processes executed to obtain a final product,
A process instance generation unit that generates a process instance that registers information about the event in association with an actual event that executes the process based on an execution condition of the event;
A trace information pointer storage unit for storing a pointer indicating a recording destination of the trace information in which the execution condition is recorded in the process instance;
A preceding process instance pointer that identifies a process instance corresponding to an actual event that supplies a result obtained by executing a preceding process immediately before the process with respect to an event corresponding to the process instance, A preceding process instance / pointer storage unit to be stored in association;
The subsequent process instance pointer that identifies the process instance corresponding to the actual event that acquires the result of the event corresponding to the process instance and executes the next subsequent process of the process is stored in association with the process instance. A subsequent process instance pointer storage unit,
For each of the plurality of process instances designated from the outside, the process instances of the preceding process are sequentially acquired based on the preceding process instance pointer recorded in each process instance in order from the process instance. A process instance forward search unit;
A common process instance extraction unit that extracts the process instance common to the set of process instances acquired by the process instance forward search unit corresponding to each of the plurality of process instances specified from the outside;
The process instance corresponding to the designated process instance is obtained by acquiring the process instance of the subsequent process based on the subsequent process instance pointer recorded in the process instance in order from the common process instance. A process instance backward search unit for identifying a final product in which event processing is performed in common;
A traceability system comprising: a common product identification information output unit that outputs information for identifying a final product specified by the process instance backward search unit . A trace for outputting a plurality of pieces of trace information corresponding to the plurality of process instances sequentially acquired by the process instance forward search unit as a set of trace information on the result of an event corresponding to the process instance designated from the outside. The traceability system according to claim 1, further comprising: an information output unit. Execution of processing commonly performed on the result of the event corresponding to the plurality of process instances specified from the outside, with the trace information corresponding to the common process instance extracted by the common process instance extraction unit The traceability system according to claim 1, further comprising: a common trace information output unit that outputs the information specifying the condition. A trace information collecting unit that collects the trace information for specifying the execution condition corresponding to the result of the process when the result of the preceding process is input to execute the process;
The process instance generation unit generates a plurality of process instances when a plurality of different trace information is collected corresponding to the result of the process,
The traceability system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the trace information pointer storage unit stores a pointer indicating a recording destination of the different trace information in each of the process instances. The trace information collection unit specifies at least one of a material or equipment condition, an operator condition, and a temperature or humidity condition when executing the process, corresponding to a result of the process. Collect trace information,
The process instance generator, when the plurality of trace information either condition is different has been collected, the traceability system according to claim 4, wherein generating the plurality of process instances. When the result of the preceding process is input and the process is executed, the execution condition is set corresponding to each of the groups obtained by dividing the plurality of results of the process by a predetermined number or amount. A trace information collecting unit for collecting the trace information to be identified;
The process instance generation unit generates the process instance corresponding to each of the groups,
The trace information pointer storage unit, said process instance corresponding to each of the groups, claim 1 for storing a pointer indicating the recording destination of the trace information collected in response to the group to one of the 5 The traceability system described. When executing the process by inputting the result of the preceding process, the execution condition is specified corresponding to each of the groups obtained by dividing the plurality of results of the process for each period of executing the process. A trace information collecting unit for collecting the trace information
The process instance generation unit generates the process instance corresponding to each of the groups,
The trace information pointer storage unit, said process instance corresponding to each of the groups, to one of the claims 1-3 for storing a pointer indicating the recording destination of the trace information collected in response to the group The traceability system described. The traceability system
A plurality of distributed server devices;
A central server device connected to the plurality of distributed server devices,
Each of the distributed server devices
A trace information collection unit that collects the trace information that identifies the execution condition in response to an actual event of executing the process when executing the process assigned to the distributed server device;
A trace information storage unit for storing the trace information collected by the trace information collection unit;
A trace information pointer transmission unit that transmits a pointer indicating a recording destination of the trace information stored in the trace information storage unit to the central server device, and
The central server device is
The process instance generation unit for generating the process instance for registering the trace information collected by the distributed server device;
The trace information pointer storage unit for registering the trace information by storing the trace information pointer received from the distributed server device in the process instance;
The traceability system according to claim 1, further comprising: the preceding process instance pointer storage unit that stores the preceding process instance pointer in the process instance. The central server device is
A process instance forward search unit for acquiring the process instance of the preceding process based on the preceding process instance pointer recorded in each process instance in order from the process instance designated from outside;
A trace for outputting a plurality of pieces of trace information corresponding to the plurality of process instances sequentially acquired by the process instance forward search unit as a set of trace information on the result of an event corresponding to the process instance designated from the outside. The traceability system according to claim 8 , further comprising: an information output unit. The central server device, based on the trace information pointers recorded in the process instances sequentially acquired by the process instance forward search unit, determines the trace information specified by the trace information pointers in the trace server in the distributed server. It has a trace information acquisition unit that acquires from the information storage unit,
10. The traceability according to claim 9, wherein the trace information output unit outputs the trace information acquired by the trace information acquisition unit as a set of trace information regarding a result of an event corresponding to the process instance specified from the outside. system. There is a trace information management method in which information about processes in a process chain consisting of a series of processes executed to obtain a final product is managed by a computer.
A process instance generation stage for generating a process instance for registering information about the event in association with an actual event for executing the process based on an execution condition of the event;
In the process instance, a trace information pointer storage step for storing a pointer indicating a recording destination of the trace information in which the execution condition is recorded;
A predecessor indicating a recording destination of a process instance corresponding to an actual event that supplies a result obtained by executing a preceding process immediately before the process with respect to an event corresponding to the process instance in association with the process instance A preceding process instance pointer storage stage for storing a process instance pointer;
The subsequent process instance pointer that identifies the process instance corresponding to the actual event that acquires the result of the event corresponding to the process instance and executes the next subsequent process of the process is stored in association with the process instance. The subsequent process instance pointer storage stage,
For each of the plurality of process instances designated from the outside, the process instances of the preceding process are sequentially acquired based on the preceding process instance pointer recorded in each process instance in order from the process instance. A process instance forward search stage;
A common process instance extraction stage for extracting the process instance common to the set of process instances acquired by the process instance forward search stage corresponding to each of the plurality of process instances specified from the outside;
The process instance corresponding to the designated process instance is obtained by acquiring the process instance of the subsequent process based on the subsequent process instance pointer recorded in the process instance in order from the common process instance. A process instance backward search stage that identifies the final product that the event processing was performed in common;
A trace information management method comprising: a common product identification information output step for outputting information for identifying the final product identified in the process instance backward search step .   Execution of processing commonly performed on the result of the event corresponding to the plurality of process instances specified from the outside, using the trace information corresponding to the common process instance extracted in the common process instance extraction stage Common trace information output stage to output as information specifying conditions
  The trace information management method according to claim 11.   A trace information collecting step for collecting the trace information for specifying the execution condition corresponding to the result of the process when the result of the preceding process is input to execute the process;
  The process instance generation stage generates a plurality of process instances when a plurality of different trace information is collected corresponding to the result of the process,
  The trace information pointer storage step stores a pointer indicating a recording destination of the different trace information in each of the process instances.
  The trace information management method according to claim 11 or 12. A trace information management program for managing information related to processes in a process chain consisting of a series of processes executed to obtain a final product, using a computer system,
The trace information management program causes the computer system to
A process instance generation unit that generates a process instance that registers information about the event in association with an actual event that executes the process based on an execution condition of the event;
A trace information pointer storage unit for storing a pointer indicating a recording destination of the trace information in which the execution condition is recorded in the process instance;
A predecessor indicating a recording destination of a process instance corresponding to an actual event that supplies a result obtained by executing a preceding process immediately before the process with respect to an event corresponding to the process instance in association with the process instance A preceding process instance pointer storage for storing the process instance pointer;
The subsequent process instance pointer that identifies the process instance corresponding to the actual event that acquires the result of the event corresponding to the process instance and executes the next subsequent process of the process is stored in association with the process instance. A subsequent process instance pointer storage unit,
For each of the plurality of process instances designated from the outside, the process instances of the preceding process are sequentially acquired based on the preceding process instance pointer recorded in each process instance in order from the process instance. A process instance forward search unit;
A common process instance extraction unit that extracts the process instance common to the set of process instances acquired by the process instance forward search unit corresponding to each of the plurality of process instances specified from the outside;
The process instance corresponding to the designated process instance is obtained by acquiring the process instance of the subsequent process based on the subsequent process instance pointer recorded in the process instance in order from the common process instance. A process instance backward search unit for identifying a final product in which event processing is performed in common;
Common product identity trace information management program for the output unit and to function to output information identifying the final product specified by said process instance backward search unit.   The trace information management program causes the computer system to
  Execution of processing commonly performed on the result of the event corresponding to the plurality of process instances specified from the outside, with the trace information corresponding to the common process instance extracted by the common process instance extraction unit A common trace information output unit that outputs information for specifying conditions;
  The trace information management program according to claim 14, which further functions.   The trace information management program causes the computer system to
  When the result of the preceding process is input to execute the process, it further functions as a trace information collection unit that collects the trace information that specifies the execution condition corresponding to the result of the process,
  The process instance generation unit generates a plurality of process instances when a plurality of different trace information is collected corresponding to the result of the process,
  The trace information pointer storage unit stores, in each of the process instances, pointers indicating different trace information recording destinations.
  The trace information management program according to claim 14 or 15.

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